9747911

Reuse of Syntax Element Indicating Vector Quantization Codebook Used in Compressing Vectors

PublishedAugust 29, 2017
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Patent Claims
28 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.

Claim 1

Original Legal Text

1. A device for processing a bitstream, the device comprising: one or more processors configured to obtain the bitstream, the bitstream comprising a compressed version of a spatial component of a sound field, the spatial component of the sound field being represented by a vector in a spherical harmonics domain, wherein a value of a syntax element for a current frame is indicative of a vector quantization codebook used when compressing the vector, the bitstream further comprising an indicator, the indicator having a particular value indicating the bitstream does not include the value of the syntax element for the current frame and the value of the syntax element for the current frame is equal to a value of the syntax element for a previous frame; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory configured to store the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

A device processes an audio bitstream representing a compressed spatial component of a sound field, specifically Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) audio. The sound field's spatial component is represented as a vector in the spherical harmonics domain. The bitstream includes a syntax element whose value indicates which vector quantization codebook was used to compress the vector in the current frame. An indicator within the bitstream signals whether the syntax element's value should be reused from the previous frame. If the indicator has a specific value, the decoder reuses the syntax element value from the previous frame, saving bits. The device stores the bitstream in memory.

Claim 2

Original Legal Text

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to use the vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the vector.

Plain English Translation

Building upon the device described for processing an audio bitstream, where an indicator signals whether to reuse a vector quantization codebook index from the previous frame (as indicated by a syntax element in the bitstream), the device further uses this vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the original vector. The device accesses the codebook specified by the syntax element to dequantize the compressed vector, thus recreating the original spatial component of the sound field. This allows the audio signal to be reconstructed from the compressed bitstream.

Claim 3

Original Legal Text

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the syntax element is a first syntax element and the indicator comprises one or more bits of a value of a second syntax element for the current frame, the value of the second syntax element for the current frame indicating a quantization mode used when compressing the vector.

Plain English Translation

In the device that processes an audio bitstream by indicating reuse of a vector quantization codebook from a previous frame, the syntax element indicating the codebook is a "first syntax element." The indicator for reuse is encoded within a "second syntax element" for the current frame. The value of this "second syntax element" indicates the quantization mode used during vector compression. Thus, the indicator signaling whether to reuse the codebook index is embedded within the quantization mode information itself, saving additional bits in the bitstream.

Claim 4

Original Legal Text

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein: the indicator comprises a value of a third syntax element for the current frame and a value of a fourth syntax element for the current frame, and the value of the third syntax element for the current frame plus the value of the fourth syntax element for the current frame being equal to zero indicates the bitstream does not include the value of the first syntax element for the current frame and the value of the first syntax element for the current frame is equal to the value of the first syntax element for the previous frame.

Plain English Translation

Expanding on the device where the codebook reuse indicator is based on a second syntax element indicating quantization mode, the indicator consists of two additional syntax elements: a "third syntax element" and a "fourth syntax element." If the sum of the values of the third and fourth syntax elements for the current frame equals zero, this indicates that the first syntax element (the codebook index) is *not* present in the bitstream and that the codebook index value from the previous frame should be reused. This provides a specific, efficient signaling mechanism to indicate codebook reuse.

Claim 5

Original Legal Text

5. The device of claim 3 , wherein the indicator includes a most significant bit of the value of the second syntax element for the current frame and a second most significant bit of the value of the second syntax element for the current frame.

Plain English Translation

In the device that determines vector quantization codebook reuse based on a second syntax element, the indicator is formed by specific bits within that second syntax element. Specifically, the *most significant bit* (MSB) and the *second most significant bit* (2nd MSB) of the second syntax element together form the indicator. The combination of these two bits signals whether the codebook index (the first syntax element) should be reused from the previous frame. This implements codebook reuse indication through bit-field encoding.

Claim 6

Original Legal Text

6. The device of claim 1 , the one or more processors further configured to: decompose higher-order ambisonic audio data to obtain the vector; and specify the vector in the bitstream to obtain the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

In the device processing audio bitstreams using codebook reuse, the device first decomposes higher-order ambisonic (HOA) audio data to obtain the vector representing the spatial component of the sound field. Then, the device encodes and specifies this vector in the bitstream. This generates the bitstream with the HOA information, allowing later decoding and reconstruction of the audio signal. The initial HOA decomposition is a required step for this compression scheme.

Claim 7

Original Legal Text

7. The device of claim 1 , the one or more processors further configured to: obtain, from the bitstream, an audio object that corresponds to the vector; and combine the audio object with the vector to reconstruct higher-order ambisonic (HOA) audio data.

Plain English Translation

Expanding on the device for processing audio bitstreams and reusing quantization codebooks, the device obtains an audio object from the bitstream that corresponds to the vector representing the spatial component of the sound field. The device then combines this audio object with the vector to reconstruct higher-order ambisonic (HOA) audio data. This combination allows the recovery of a more complete audio signal from its compressed representation in the bitstream.

Claim 8

Original Legal Text

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein: the one or more processors are configured to render the HOA audio data to output one or more loudspeaker feeds, the device is coupled to one or more loudspeakers, wherein the one or more loudspeaker feeds drive the one or more loudspeakers.

Plain English Translation

The device that decodes and reconstructs audio from the described bitstream also renders the reconstructed HOA audio data to produce one or more loudspeaker feeds. The device is connected to one or more loudspeakers, and the generated loudspeaker feeds drive those speakers. The loudspeaker feeds contain the correct audio signal for each speaker to recreate the original sound field from the HOA representation.

Claim 9

Original Legal Text

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: obtain the value of the syntax element for the current frame from the bitstream when the indicator does not have the particular value.

Plain English Translation

The device utilizes an indicator to decide whether to re-use quantization codebook index. In the case when the indicator does *not* have the specific value indicating re-use, the device will obtain the value of the syntax element representing the vector quantization codebook index directly from the current frame's data in the bitstream. This way, the device properly updates the codebook index.

Claim 10

Original Legal Text

10. A method for processing a bitstream, the method comprising: obtaining the bitstream, the bitstream comprising a compressed version of a spatial component of a sound field, the spatial component of the sound field being represented by a vector in a spherical harmonics domain, wherein a value of a syntax element for a current frame is indicative of a vector quantization codebook used when compressing the vector, the bitstream further comprising an indicator, the indicator having a particular value indicating the bitstream does not include the value of the syntax element for the current frame and the value of the syntax element for the current frame is equal to a value of the syntax element for a previous frame; and storing the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

A method for processing an audio bitstream representing a compressed spatial component of a sound field involves obtaining the bitstream, where the spatial component is represented by a vector in a spherical harmonics domain. The bitstream contains a syntax element whose value indicates the vector quantization codebook used for vector compression in the current frame. An indicator in the bitstream signals whether the codebook index should be reused from the previous frame. If the indicator has a specific value, the codebook index from the previous frame is reused for the current frame. The method also includes storing the bitstream.

Claim 11

Original Legal Text

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising using the vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the vector.

Plain English Translation

The method for processing an audio bitstream, involving re-using a codebook index and storing the bitstream (as indicated by a syntax element and its indicator), also involves using the indicated vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the original vector. This enables the recovery of the sound field's spatial component from the compressed bitstream and contributes to recreating the original audio signal.

Claim 12

Original Legal Text

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the syntax element is a first syntax element and the indicator comprises one or more bits of a value of a second syntax element for the current frame, the value of the second syntax element for the current frame indicating a quantization mode used when compressing the vector.

Plain English Translation

In the method of processing an audio bitstream through re-using vector quantization codebooks, the syntax element used to indicate the codebook index is denoted as a "first syntax element." The indicator for codebook re-use is embedded within one or more bits of a "second syntax element" for the current frame. The value of this "second syntax element" represents the quantization mode used in compressing the vector.

Claim 13

Original Legal Text

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein: the indicator comprises a value of a third syntax element for the current frame and a value of a fourth syntax element for the current frame, and the value of the third syntax element for the current frame plus the value of the fourth syntax element for the current frame being equal to zero indicates the bitstream does not include the value of the first syntax element for the current frame and the value of the first syntax element for the current frame is equal to the value of the first syntax element for the previous frame.

Plain English Translation

In the method where an indicator determines re-use based on a second syntax element, the indicator utilizes two additional syntax elements: a "third syntax element" and a "fourth syntax element." When the sum of the values of the third and fourth syntax elements for the current frame equals zero, this signifies that the first syntax element (codebook index) is absent from the current frame's bitstream and that the codebook index from the previous frame must be re-used.

Claim 14

Original Legal Text

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the indicator includes a most significant bit of the value of the second syntax element for the current frame and a second most significant bit of the value of the second syntax element for the current frame.

Plain English Translation

Within the method of determining codebook reuse based on a second syntax element, the indicator consists of the *most significant bit* (MSB) and the *second most significant bit* (2nd MSB) of that second syntax element. The specific bit values act as the signal determining whether the first syntax element (codebook index) should be re-used from the previous frame.

Claim 15

Original Legal Text

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: decomposing higher-order ambisonic audio data to obtain the vector; and specifying the vector in the bitstream to obtain the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

In the method of processing audio bitstreams with codebook reuse, the method also incorporates decomposing higher-order ambisonic (HOA) audio data to obtain a vector representing the sound field's spatial component, and specifying that vector within the bitstream, resulting in a compressed representation of the HOA audio.

Claim 16

Original Legal Text

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: obtaining, from the bitstream, an audio object that corresponds to the vector; and combining the audio object with the vector to reconstruct higher-order ambisonic audio data.

Plain English Translation

The method for processing audio bitstreams also involves obtaining an audio object, representing the non-spatial data, from the bitstream that corresponds to the spatial vector. The method combines the audio object with the spatial vector to reconstruct complete higher-order ambisonic (HOA) audio data, after vector dequantization.

Claim 17

Original Legal Text

17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: decoding the bitstream to obtain Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA) coefficients; and rendering the HOA coefficients to output one or more loudspeaker feeds, a device rendering the HOA coefficients to output the one or more loudspeaker feeds is coupled to one or more loudspeakers, wherein the one or more loudspeaker feeds drive the one or more loudspeakers.

Plain English Translation

This audio processing method produces loudspeaker feeds to recreate HOA audio. The method first decodes the bitstream to derive Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA) coefficients. Next, the HOA coefficients are rendered to generate one or more loudspeaker feeds. These feeds are sent to loudspeakers that generate the audio signal.

Claim 18

Original Legal Text

18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: obtaining the value of the syntax element for the current frame from the bitstream when the indicator does not have the particular value.

Plain English Translation

When using the re-use indicator in the audio bitstream processing method, and the indicator's value does not signal re-use of the quantization codebook index, then the method involves reading the value of the syntax element from the current frame data in the bitstream. The codebook index is updated with the newly-read value.

Claim 19

Original Legal Text

19. A device for processing a bitstream, the device comprising: means for obtaining the bitstream, the bitstream comprising a compressed version of a spatial component of a sound field, the spatial component of the sound field being represented by a vector in a spherical harmonics domain, wherein a value of a syntax element for a current frame is indicative of a vector quantization codebook used when compressing the vector, the bitstream further comprising an indicator, the indicator having a particular value indicating the bitstream does not include the value of the syntax element for the current frame and the value of the syntax element for the current frame is equal to a value of the syntax element for a previous frame; and means for storing the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

A device for processing a bitstream uses means for obtaining the bitstream, where the bitstream contains compressed spatial components of a sound field (represented as a vector in the spherical harmonics domain), and a syntax element indicating which vector quantization codebook was used in compression. An indicator signals whether to reuse the syntax element from the previous frame. The device also includes means for storing the bitstream.

Claim 20

Original Legal Text

20. The device of claim 19 , further comprising: means for using the vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the vector.

Plain English Translation

A device for processing a bitstream using means for obtaining and storing also has the capability, or means, to use the indicated vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the spatial vector.

Claim 21

Original Legal Text

21. The device of claim 19 , wherein the syntax element is a first syntax element and the indicator comprises one or more bits of a value of a second syntax element for the current frame, the value of the second syntax element for the current frame indicating a quantization mode used when compressing the vector.

Plain English Translation

The audio bitstream processing device indicates the syntax element (that contains the quantization codebook index) as a "first syntax element". The indicator showing whether to reuse the previous codebook index, is located within a "second syntax element". The second syntax element's value shows the vector quantization mode.

Claim 22

Original Legal Text

22. The device of claim 19 , further comprising: means for decomposing higher-order ambisonic audio data to obtain the vector; and means for specifying the vector in the bitstream to obtain the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

A device processing an audio bitstream also incorporates means for decomposing higher-order ambisonic (HOA) audio data to obtain a spatial vector, and means for specifying that vector within the created bitstream.

Claim 23

Original Legal Text

23. The device of claim 19 , the device further comprising: means for obtaining the value of the syntax element for the current frame from the bitstream when the indicator does not have the particular value.

Plain English Translation

When processing audio bitstreams with codebook re-use, and the codebook re-use indicator shows re-use is not desired, the device has means for directly obtaining the value of the syntax element from the current frame in the bitstream.

Claim 24

Original Legal Text

24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, configure a device to: obtain a bitstream, the bitstream comprising a compressed version of a spatial component of a sound field, the spatial component of the sound field being represented by a vector in a spherical harmonics domain, wherein a value of a syntax element for a current frame is indicative of a vector quantization codebook used when compressing the vector, the bitstream further comprising an indicator, the indicator having a particular value indicating the bitstream does not include the value of the syntax element for the current frame and the value of the syntax element for the current frame is equal to a value of the syntax element for a previous frame; and store the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for audio processing. These instructions cause a device to obtain a bitstream, the bitstream including a spatial component of a sound field (represented by a vector in the spherical harmonics domain), and a syntax element to indicate quantization codebook. There is an indicator to signal whether to reuse from a previous frame. There is a means to store the bitstream.

Claim 25

Original Legal Text

25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed, configure the device to use the vector quantization codebook to reconstruct the vector.

Plain English Translation

The instructions stored on the non-transitory medium for audio processing, which obtains, indicates reuse, and stores, also include using the vector quantization codebook indicated to reconstruct the spatial vector from the compressed bitstream.

Claim 26

Original Legal Text

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein the syntax element is a first syntax element and the indicator comprises one or more bits of a value of a second syntax element for the current frame, the value of the second syntax element for the current frame indicating a quantization mode used when compressing the vector.

Plain English Translation

The non-transitory storage medium stores instructions to designate the syntax element (containing the quantization codebook index) as a "first syntax element". The codebook re-use indicator is embedded as part of a "second syntax element" value, which also indicates the vector's quantization mode.

Claim 27

Original Legal Text

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the device to: decompose higher-order ambisonic audio data to obtain the vector; and specify the vector in the bitstream to obtain the bitstream.

Plain English Translation

A non-transitory medium also has instructions to first decompose higher-order ambisonic audio to obtain a spatial vector. The vector is then specified within the compressed audio bitstream.

Claim 28

Original Legal Text

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the device to: obtain the value of the syntax element for the current frame from the bitstream when the indicator does not have the particular value.

Plain English Translation

The non-transitory medium has instructions for an indicator for codebook reuse. When the indicator shows that the codebook is not to be reused, instructions cause direct reading the value of the syntax element from the current frame.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

Unknown

Publication Date

August 29, 2017

Inventors

Nils G¿nther Peters
Dipanjan Sen

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Cite as: Patentable. “REUSE OF SYNTAX ELEMENT INDICATING VECTOR QUANTIZATION CODEBOOK USED IN COMPRESSING VECTORS” (9747911). https://patentable.app/patents/9747911

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